Art by Niki Hilsabeck

"Beach Stroll" 9 x 12 Pastel on Paper Click here to view details It's a little easy to get drunk on color when using pastels.  When I first took pastel classes, it was difficult for me to stick to values when beginning a painting-- I always jumped into the bright colors (and quickly ended up in trouble).  Even now, if I'm having difficulty getting into painting mode, I can just open a box of brightly colored pastels and feel instantly inspired.  "Mermaid" 9 x 12 Pastel on Paper Click here to view details   Pastels come in a wide array of bright colors, and you don't have to do any mixing (although you can blend the colors if you wish).  Pastels hold their strong colors without fading for a long time, and there's no need to worry about cracking or drying out over time as there is with oil or acrylic. For me, the color sets the mood for a painting.  I know I can always use my trusty pastels to convey whatever mood I'm expressing w...

"Harbor Alley" 14 x22 Mixed Media on Paper Click here to purchase or view large This piece took a while, as it was a bit of an experiment but turned into quite an exercise. We've had some great weather over the summer down at Oceanside Harbor, so I've been wanting to capture some of those bright days in my artwork.  I started with a palette knife painting using blue acrylic and gesso, laying in the values and basic composition before I broke out the chalk. I ended up layering chalk over acrylic, then more paint over the chalk again to bring back some of those deep blues and bright whites.  The goal of the painting was not to show what the actual boats looked like, but the patterns of horizontal and vertical shapes highlighted by the bright sun and set against the darker water. In the spirit of summer and great beach weather, I also did a pastel painting of my daughter as she looked last year: "Little Chunky Thighs on the Beach" 9 x 12 Chalk p...

"Keep Off the Rocks" 9 x 12 chalk pastel on paper (framed) Click here to purchase Last summer, we spent a day at the beach at Aliso Creek. I don't normally go to Orange County beaches, being partial to San Diego. I did get some great photos of the rocks and cliff at this beach, though, one of which inspired this painting. This group of rocks looks particularly inviting, with lots of flat areas. It has a large sign warning people to stay off of the rocks, probably because they are constantly bombarded with waves and most likely slippery (see the green in the upper half of the painting). Throughout the day, the lifeguards repeatedly had to trot out to the rocks and tell people to go back to the sand. Finally toward the end of the day, they drove over to the area and made a loud announcement on the speaker, reminding people to stay off the rocks not only for the rest of the day, but the rest of the summer. It was pretty funny. It's been dark and rainy off and on ...